Egypt - Nagaa Hamady incident - Violent Incidents targeting Christians in Egypt during 2010

Egypt - Nagaa Hamady incident - Violent Incidents targeting Christians in Egypt during 2010

Violent Incidents targeting Christians in Egypt during 2010
During this year, there has been a significant increase in violent attacks targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians and their property. In most cases, perpetrators have not been convicted. In other cases, the alleged perpetrators have been briefly detained but eventually released without charge.
This increase in violence, and the failure to prosecute those responsible, fosters a growing climate of impunity, especially in Upper Egypt. In recent years, in response to sectarian violence, Egyptian authorities have conducted “reconciliation” sessions between Muslims and Christians as a way of easing tensions and resolving disputes. However, reconciliation efforts should not be utilized to undermine enforcement of the law and punishing perpetrators for wrongdoing.
Below is a sample of recent violent incidents impacting the Coptic Orthodox community, who comprise 10-15 per cent of the Egyptian population of 80 million people.
On March 12, 2010 in Marsa Matrouh, northern Egypt, the prayer leader of the Al-Rifayah mosque allegedly incited some 250 Muslims worshippers to demolish a wall that was under construction by the nearby Coptic Church. The wall reportedly encroached on part of a road leading to the mosque. The Muslim worshippers left the mosque after Friday afternoon prayers and approached the Coptic Church compound and began throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at and over the wall. Approximately two dozen Coptic Christians inside the compound were injured. There were reprisal attacks by some Christians from inside the compound. According to media reports, police and security forces responded adequately and arrested approximately 14 Copts and 16 Muslims. The compound suffered damage and at least two vehicles and three homes owned by Copts were set on fire. To date, no charges have been filed as police continue to investigate the incident.
In February 2010, four Muslim men were acquitted of murdering a Coptic Christian man, Farouk Attallah, in October 2009 in the Upper Egypt town of Dairout. The murder reportedly was witnessed by a number of individuals. According to reports, Attallah’s Christian son was involved in a romantic relationship with a Muslim girl. The defendants allegedly had planned to attack the young man, but when they could not find him, they killed his father. The court stated the reason for the acquittal was insufficient evidence.
On January 6, 2010 in the town of Naga Hammadi, Qena Governorate, three men with automatic weapons shot Coptic churchgoers leaving midnight Christmas Mass. At least seven people were killed – six Christians and one off-duty Muslim police officer – and several others wounded. Some argued the attack was in retaliation for a November incident in which a 12year-old Muslim girl was rumored to have been raped by a Christian man in a nearby town , others suggested that a political vendetta could have been a factor. Three suspected perpetrators have been arrested and their trial started in February in a state emergency court and is ongoing. For days following the January 6 incident, riots ensued as Christians destroyed and burned the shops and property of private Muslim business-owners. At least 42 individuals were arrested as a result of the riots; approximately 28 Christians and 14 Muslims. At least 12 Christians and nine others remain in detention. Magdi Ayoub, the Qena Provincial Governor, and the only Coptic Christian Governor in the country, testified before parliament that the Naga Hammadi incident was not sectarian in nature, which drew the ire of Christian parliamentarians and Coptic Bishop Kyrollos of the Naga Hammadi Diocese. President Mubarak and Muslim and Christian religious leaders have spoken out repeatedly to condemn the January 6 killings and have called for bringing the perpetrators to justice. The killings also outraged many Egyptian citizens throughout the country and prompted a robust and wide-ranging debate in the press about the broader context and measures to prevent future incidents.

In November 2009, in Farshout and other villages in the Qena Governorate, rumors that a 20-year-old Coptic man had raped a 12-year-old Muslim girl sparked massive violence by Muslims against the Coptic Christian community. Rioting ensued for five days, resulting in millions of dollars in damage to Christian-owned businesses. Many Christian families were forced from their homes. The assailants also attacked the police station where the accused Christian man was being detained. Some eyewitness and media reports stated that security forces arrived hours after being called and did little to stop the attacks. Bishop Kyrollos denounced the security forces’ failure to restore calm and alleged that the attacks were pre-planned. The rape case against the Christian man has not yet gone to trial. Bishop Kyrollos had been receiving threats since the November incident, and after the January 6 shootings in Naga Hammadi, police asked him to stay at home for fear of further violence.

On a positive note, in February 2010 in the Qena Governorate of Upper Egypt, a court convicted and sentenced to life in prison five Muslim men for the murder of two Christian men in the spring of 2009. The Christian men themselves had just been released from prison after serving sentences for murdering a relative of the Muslim men. Although this case fits the pattern of an Upper Egypt vendetta killing and reprisal, the Christian men were reportedly shot outside a church, which created a sectarian overtone.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 19th, 2010 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Human Rights, Legal Advocacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.